Illustration, not a product photo.
LILYGO · Dev board
LILYGO LoRa32 T3-S3
Cheap ESP32-S3 board with SMA connector; buy the SX1262 version for US 915.
Meshtastic: officially supportedMeshCore: supported
From $23.65List price on lilygo.cc, checked November 1, 2026
At a glance
Battery
Not included
GPS
No
Screen
OLED
Water resistance
Not listed
Chip
ESP32-S3 (Wi-Fi)
List price
From $23.65
Strengths
- ESP32-S3 with Wi-Fi, needed for features like MQTT over Wi-Fi
- Runs either Meshtastic or MeshCore
Trade-offs
- No battery included; check the connector before buying one
- No GPS
- ESP32 boards draw more power than nRF52 boards, per Meshtastic docs
Based on published specs, not hands-on testing.
Specifications
| Type | Dev board (SMA antenna, microSD) |
|---|---|
| Processor | ESP32-S3 |
| LoRa radio | SX1262 (also SX1276, SX1280, LR1121 variants) |
| US 915 MHz version | Yes ('SX1262 915MHz [H598]' variant on lilygo.cc.) |
| Screen | OLED 0.96 in |
| Keyboard | No |
| GPS | No (Meshtastic: 'No GPS'.) |
| Battery | None included; battery connector type not stated |
| Solar input | Not listed |
| Wi-Fi | Yes, 2.4 GHz b/g/n |
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth 5.0 |
| Water resistance | Not listed |
| List price | $23.65 (lilygo.cc; variants showed sold out when checked; metadata 16.55.) |
Checked November 1, 2026. "Not listed" means the maker and official docs don't state it.
Known issues and cautions
From the maker's documentation and the official Meshtastic docs.
- Meshtastic docs: do not proceed unless an antenna is connected.
- Meshtastic docs: SX127x is older/weaker; SX126x/LR11xx strongly recommended.
- SX1280 variants are 2.4 GHz (Meshtastic region LORA_24), not 915 MHz.
- lilygo.cc (SX1280 with PA): output power setting must not exceed 2-5 dBm or the FEM chip may be damaged.
Where sources disagree
- Meshtastic lists an LR1121 variant; lilygo.cc T3 S3 page lists only SX1262/SX1276/SX1280 variants.
Similar devices
- Heltec WiFi LoRa 32 V3 / V3.1 Dev board, $17.90–$19.90
- Heltec WiFi LoRa 32 V4 Dev board, $17.90–$27.50
- Heltec Wireless Tracker (V1.1) Dev board, $22.90
- Heltec Wireless Tracker V2 Dev board, $30.90
Compare LILYGO LoRa32 T3-S3 with Heltec WiFi LoRa 32 V3 / V3.1 and Heltec WiFi LoRa 32 V4
Sources
- meshtastic.org/docs/hardware/devices/lilygo/lora/
- meshtastic.org/docs/hardware/devices/
- lilygo.cc/products/t3s3-v1-0
- github.com/meshcore-dev/flasher.meshcore.io/blob/main/config.json
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